Air diffuser having improved bridges for supporting air control blades

Abstract

A slot diffuser includes a pair of elongate and parallel side walls spaced by pairs of bridges. The bridges include feet that slide along receivers in the side walls such that the bridges can be positioned at any location therealong and provide support to the bridges and stability to the diffuser. The bridges include slots that extend between the side rails and that receive ends of air flow control blades. The air flow control blades have an elongate planar portion supported by rods extending outwardly on either side of the planar portions to support the blades in the slots. The blades are removable without disassembling the entire diffuser. Each bridge has an arcuate cover that reduces air drag and each bridge also has a low profile to further reduce air drag and thus reduce noise produced by the diffuser.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is as follows:  
     
       1. An air diffuser bridge for mounting air control blades; said bridge comprising: 
       a) a bridge body having an elongate slot for receiving at least one air control blade; said slot having associated therewith a top elongate wall and a planar bottom wall spaced parallel to said top wall by a rear wall, said slot being adapted to slidably receive a control blade therealong; said top wall having a cover; said cover being arcuate and curving downward from near a rear thereof to near a front of said slot top wall so as to reduce drag on air passing said cover.  
     
     
       2. The bridge according to claim  1  wherein: 
       a) said cover has a radius that is approximately equal to the thickness of said bridge.  
     
     
       3. The bridge according to claim  1  that is a first bridge in combination with a second bridge; said first and second bridges abutting in back to back relationship; the covers of said first and second bridges forming an elongate structure having a semicircular cross section. 
     
     
       4. The bridge according to claim  1  wherein: 
       a) said slot rear wall has at least one aperture therealong for operably receiving a portion of a control blade during assembly.  
     
     
       5. The bridge according to claim  1  wherein: 
       a) said slot contains a spring mechanism for operably biasing against an air control blade during use.  
     
     
       6. The bridge according to claim  5  wherein: 
       a) said spring mechanism includes an arcuate spring sized and positioned to abut an air control blade mounted in said slot.  
     
     
       7. The bridge according to claim  6  wherein: 
       a) said spring mechanism includes a post upon which said spring is mounted; said post extending between said top and bottom walls and being located near said rear wall.  
     
     
       8. The bridge according to claim  1  including: 
       a) a pair of slide feet mounted on respective opposite ends of said slot and sized and shaped to be slidingly received on a pair of diffuser rails respectively.  
     
     
       9. The bridge according to claim  8  in combination with a pair of side rails and wherein: 
       a) said side rails each include an elongate receiver for slidably receiving said bridge feet.  
     
     
       10. The combination according to claim  9  wherein said bridge is a first bridge and including a second bridge spaced from said first bridge and secured to said side rails; said first and second bridges mounting a pair of air control blades therebetween. 
     
     
       11. The combination according to claim  10  wherein: 
       a) each of said blades includes a planar portion extending between said bridges and a pair of mounting pegs extending outwardly from said planar portions from respective opposite ends thereof; each of said pegs being slidingly received in a slot of a respective bridge and opposite ends of each planar portion positioned to engage a respective spring member during use.  
     
     
       12. An air diffuser comprising: 
       a) a pair of parallel spaced side rails; each rail having an elongate receiver;  
       b) a pair of bridges slidably joined to said side rails; each of said bridges including an elongate body with slide feet positioned at opposite ends thereof; each of said bridge feet being captured in a respective side rail receiver such that said bridges are supported by said side rails but slidable therealong; each of said bridges also having an elongate slot formed of a bottom wall, rear wall and top wall; each of said bridges having a respective spring mechanism mounted in a slot thereof; each of said bridges also having a cover over each top wall; each of said covers having a radius approximately a thickness of an associated bridge so as to reduce drag on air passing each bridge; and  
       c) a pair of air control blades; each blade being elongate and having a planar portion extending between a pair of bridges; each blade also having a pair of mounting pegs extending outward from opposite sides of a respective blade planar portion; said pegs being received in respective bridge slots; said blade planar portion opposite ends each being received against a respective spring member.  
     
     
       13. In an elongate air diffuser bridge for operably joining together a pair of side rails and operably supporting at least one air control blade; the improvement comprising: 
       a) said bridge having a top and opposed first and second sides, said first side being a control blade receiving side having a control blade receiving slot formed therein, said bridge including a cover extending along said top thereof; said cover sloping downwardly from said second side of the bridge to said control blade receiving side of the bridge.  
     
     
       14. The bridge according to claim  13  wherein: 
       a) said cover is arcuate.  
     
     
       15. The bridge according to claim  14  wherein: 
       a) said bridge has a thickness; and  
       b) said cover has a radius substantially equal to the thickness of said bridge.  
     
     
       16. An air diffuser comprising: 
       a) a first bridge including:  
       i) a bridge body having an elongate slot; said slot having associated therewith a top elongate wall with a cover; said cover being arcuate and curving downward from near a rear thereof to near a front of said slot top wall so as to reduce drag on air passing said cover; and  
       ii) a pair of slide feet mounted on respective opposite ends of said slot;  
       b) a pair of side rails, each of said side rails including an elongate receiver slidably receiving a respective one of said slide feet;  
       c) a second bridge spaced from said first bridge and secured to said side rails; and  
       d) a pair of air control blades mounted between said first and second bridges.  
     
     
       17. The air diffuser according to claim  16  wherein: 
       a) each of said blades includes a planar portion extending between said bridges and a pair of mounting pegs extending outwardly from said planar portions from respective opposite ends thereof; each of said pegs being slidingly received in a slot of a respective bridge and opposite ends of each planar portion positioned to engage a respective spring member during use.